Difficult Task!

   The Belted Kingfisher birds are notoriously hard to photograph simply because they are so busy.  The birds can dive with lightning speed and literally dive right out of a photograph!  This makes for a delightful sense of accomplishment if even one picture turns out well.  Since the birds hang around the pier posts as they dive for small fish near the marsh, it has become a personal challenge to get that elusive inflight photograph.  I have not.  Yet.  I will keep trying.  

  The little female kingfisher did come to visit this morning and granted me several pictures as she patiently sat atop one of the tallest posts.  She obviously had her belly full as she did nothing more than watch me with my camera.  I took advantage of her patience and snapped a few photos from a good distance before trying to "worm" my way closer.  She was having no part of that!  After moving just a few feet nearer the post, she took flight to my brother's pier.  Once there, she began diving again but with the old camera not liking the humidity, nary a picture of her dives was achieved.  I had to be satisfied with the ones on the post.  Belted Kingfishers can dive at 25mph which fully explains the difficulty.  

Shhh! Old Gus is Sleeping!

   Early this morning, Mark took the little skiff out on the Bay for a bit of fishing.  I stayed behind on the pier for a bit before heading to do some gardening chores.  While on the pier, a thick fog was enshrouding the entire Bay but I did manage to catch a few photos of our resident Brown Pelican.  The bird was sitting on a post at my brother's pier not far from ours.  The bird was sound asleep!  Shhh!  Do not wake Old Gus!

  It is easy to tell when a Brown Pelican is sleeping merely by observing its position.  With the large bill, the bird has to find some way of not toppling forward when dozing.  The method that works is to twist the head to one side, tuck the large bill up under a wing and the sit perfectly balanced.  Old Gus was in this position at daybreak but when he heard Mark's outboard motor crank he stretched out his neck and settled back into the usual awake perching position.  This is with the neck tucked but bill forward.  The bird can still rest but can also keep watch on what is happening around him.  

  

The fog obviously had Old Gus a bit drowsy as he made no attempt at leaving his post all the while I was on the pier.  He sat and rested.  It was about four hours later before he decided to make the effort of getting out of "bed" to catch breakfast.  Old Gus was lazy this morning!  Shh...he is sleeping!

Only Ms. Nellie

   Today was drizzly, cold and gray which is typical for February.  Although it may not be cold by the standard of others, since my health has decided to be iffy, I feel the cold.  This is the first year that I can honestly say "I am chilled to the bone".  Even so, I braved the chill to make a late afternoon jaunt around the hillside.  My goal was to gather a few bits and pieces of felled branches to stoke the old cast iron stove when I was back inside.  That old burner has been chugging nonstop for over a month now.  As I was gathering the twigs, my path took me down to where I can usually find a few of my critter friends.  Nope.  No one was there.  So, I headed around back of the greenhouse.  Nope.  No one was home.  Ok, so I dropped my bundle of scrappy firewood on the front step and meandered down to the pier.  Aha!  The one and only critter to brave the elements along with me was sitting on a pier post!

  A ring-billed gull was resting a bit before searching the waters for her supper.  She eyed me curiously.  Ms. Nellie, as I dubbed her, was a newcomer to the Bayou.  Hopefully, she will decide she likes it here and make it her home.  She seemed placid enough around me making me think that we might become fast friends.  Perhaps I shall attempt to bring the net on my next pier visit.  Hopefully, my strength will be enough that I can still throw the thing.  Ms. Nellie shall feast upon little mullet if all goes well.

  It was good to see at least one other living creature out on this raw day but Ms. Nellie will have to go it alone.  I needed to get back to the Little Bayou House and that wood-burning stove.  It was too chilly for me on that pier!  Stay warm, Ms. Nellie!

To Give You An Idea....

  Sometimes folks that are away from the Coast cannot fathom the destruction brought on by a hurricane.  In fact, they do not even understand why cleanup and repair afterward takes time.  It is not just the wind when you live directly on the water as we do.  That water, itself, is a powerful force to be reckoned with and it does more damage usually than the winds.  The onslaught of a tidal surge literally demolishes anything in its path.  If the wall of water does not finish the job, debris from across the Bay pretty much acts as a battering ram and fells whatever it decides to take.  

  This tidal surge or "wall of water" is just that. It is a churning tempest with enough force to topple a house or dig up huge oak trees.  Depending on the strength of the storm, that wall can be anywhere from a few feet to thirty or forty feet high.  When it comes crashing ashore, nothing stands a chance.

  A few weeks ago, I noticed something odd on my brother's pier.  He had very tall pole put in by the pile-driver but atop that, he had mounted a tall "steeple".  I pondered his thinking and motive behind this monstrosity until Mark and I walked over to his pier.  He explained.  "You see that little red flag about half way up the post?  That is where Hurricane Zeta's surge got.  It was that high!'  We marveled on that but we knew first hand that the water was higher than the weather forecasters predicted.  The hurricane was not one to play nicely.  He continued "Now look way up there at the top.  You see that flag?  That was how high Hurricane Katrina's surge was and it stayed there for eight hours pounding us."   Well, THAT visual brought back the disturbing memories of the longest storm that I have ever endured.  That storm surge hit us at thirty two feet even though the weather experts claimed far less.  That storm water covered our entire hill from the Bay all the way to the road.  Nothing was left untouched by the water.  We found sofas from parts unknown in the tops of pine trees.  In fact, there was a skiff tossed up in the top of an oak tree far behind our house.  That storm was not one that I would ever wish upon anyone.  At least, Hurricane Zeta made a hasty exit.  If it had not, we would have been in far worse shape than we were/are.  The cleanup continues.  

  The visual of the flags on my brother's pier post brings a lot into perspective.  The depth of the water is clear evidence of the strength of the storm behind it.  Neither of these were ones to take lightly.  So there you have it, folks.  This is a clear idea of how high the water gets for those who have never ridden out a storm on the Coast.  Never underestimate a tidal surge.  It can be devastating.